Policy and Advocacy: Drug classification, Matters of Substance article

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Old dogma, new tricks

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Adherence to the creed of prohibition is as strong as ever in many countries. But while the UK is still racked with crushing guilt about the original sin of drugs, New Zealand is now questioning the holy writ of its Drugs Act and edging gradually towards a new prohibitionist atheism. Jeremy Sare compares the two countries’ legislative approaches in the modern drugs era and asks where we should put out faith.

The Proposition

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

At the US mid-term elections last November, Californian voters rejected Proposition 19, a measure that would have allowed local bodies in the state to tax and regulate marijuana use. The losing margin was 8 percent or almost 700,000 votes, but, writes Hamish McKenzie, its supporters are not as disappointed as you might think.

The slow death of the ACMD

Sunday, May 30, 2010

As part of its drug law review, the Law Commission has recommended an overhaul of our Government’s drug classification body – the Expert Advisory Committee on Drugs. Internationally, these independent advisory bodies play an important role by injecting scientific expertise into the often fraught politics of drug policy.

Stop making sense

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

In January 2004 the UK downgraded cannabis from Class B to Class C, which meant lower penalties and fewer arrests for possession. In January 2009 that decision was reversed, even though scientific advice had not changed significantly and cannabis consumption was falling.

Where angels fear to tread

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

The New Zealand Drug Harm Index, published in June, was developed by Business and Economic Research Limited as a tool for the Police to assess and quantify social harms resulting from illicit drug use. Alison Ritter offers a review of the index and suggests it remains useful despite some significant flaws.

The drug classification alphabet: An un-evidence-based mess

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

The debate in the UK over cannabis reclassification from B to C made the classification debate headline news, while a damning inquiry report by the Science and Technology Select Committee, combined with the The Lancet paper on drug harm rankings, have given the ABC system some long-overdue high-level scrutiny. However, the problem runs much deeper than whether certain drugs are misclassified. Steve Rolles.

The drug scheduling debate: The view from Vienna

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Drug scheduling is the process of sorting controlled substances into categories, generally with the purpose of assigning higher levels of control over those drugs viewed as most hazardous. This implies a process of weighing the respective dangers and benefits of each drug, an undertaking of considerable complexity. As with many controversial topics, members of the public, and especially specialised academics, may feel that their opinions are not given enough credit. This is particularly true for popular drugs with vocal supporters, such as cannabis. Ted Leggett.